As our communities look for ways to bring children safely back into structured, safe learning environments - whether that is child care facilities or schools - many staff, teachers, and children are likely going to be experiencing some stress and anxiety. This isn't new - transitions are always a bit stressful, but this time there are a number of added concerns that may be difficult to process for kids and adults alike. The best way to help keep children regulated and focused is to practice that ourselves.

Zero to Three is a national organization that has long-standing experience in providing quality information and support to Early Childhood professionals and parents of young children. Last week, they released Getting Started with Mindfulness: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Organizations to help staff within early childhood settings learn more about the case for implementing mindfulness techniques into your their daily work and organizational culture, try hands-on strategies for doing so, and learn more from organizations who have already started the journey.

While the toolkit focuses on early childhood settings, the information can easily be adapted to other types of organizations with questions for leaders to consider, brief survey examples to get staff input, and resources for developing emotional competence skills during supervision.

We encourage all of you to take good care of yourselves through this challenging time - our children and communities need you.

Stay safe and healthy!

Vanessa